Mumbai | Bollywood actor couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh have been appointed as brand ambassadors of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), the state-owned road transport body.

In a release issued on Wednesday, the corporation said Riteish and Genelia will serve as brand ambassadors for the next five years and will participate in its campaigns about road safety, passenger awareness and social messages.

The agreement formalising their appointment was signed at Mantralaya, the state secretariat, in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik who is also the chairman of the MSRTC.

The Bollywood couple is expected to actively participate in MSRTC campaigns, officials said.

MSRTC had appointed noted Marathi actor Makarand Anaspure as its brand ambassador in 2023, but he was rarely seen at events of the public transport body. Late actor Vikram Gokhale was the corporation's brand ambassador two decades ago.

MSRTC is the biggest road transport corporation in the country with a fleet of over 16,000 buses and a workforce of 86,000. More than 55 lakh passengers travel by MSRTC buses every day.